Band:	Emperor
Album:	Prometheus: The Discipline Of Fire & Demise
Style:	Symphonic black metal
Release date:	2001
Guest review by:	Rupophobic

01. The Eruption
02. Depraved
03. Empty
04. The Prophet
05. The Tongue Of Fire
06. In The Wordless Chamber
07. Grey
08. He Who Sought The Fire
09. Thorns On My Grave

Well, here I am listening to Prometheus, Emperor's latest and final gift to the metal world. As an amateur ?critic? it's my responsibility to help evaluate exactly what it is they have given us, and in a sense, help the metal community pass judgment on the last album of true legends. Not that anyone who is even a casual metal fan should care at all what I think of it, mind you, but I'm going to tell you anyways.

It seems that Emperor have chosen to call it quits at what is undeniably the pinnacle of their career and popularity. The very mention of the name Emperor brings a sense of awe to any metalhead who hears it, and by exiting stage left now, they have insured that it will stay that way. This is at once, both a saddening and joyous thought. Saddening, because we as listeners will never be able to hear the music we might have, had they carried on. Joyous, because they will never have the option of falling into the mundane, fizzling out their career and dragging the name Emperor along with them. Read: Metallica, Megadeth, etc. here. So, now that I'm done reflecting, on with the review.

As I had only received this album in the mail earlier this week due to the pathetic record stores around here forcing me to order off the internet, I have had a chance to see what everyone else has been saying about it, and I must say, I have discovered an unusual trend. Magazine reviewers have been consistently giving Prometheus a higher rating than internet reviewers, which if you didn's know already, is usually the opposite of what happens. Internet reviewers tend to be more lenient when giving scores, myself included if you hadn's already noticed, though I stick by all my ratings. Also, it seems that the poor internet reviews seem to focus on the music, whereas the magazine reviews I?ve read focus on some transcendental idea that seems to just float out there somewhere without ever materializing into something tangible. Now, your probably saying, ?So what? Who Cares? Get on with it already.? Well, the reason I bring it up is because I'm going to try to bring lines of thought displayed here together.

I can fully understand the good, but less than great reviews it has been getting on the internet based upon the music here. Prometheus is about as far away from being immediately accessible as just about anything I?ve ever heard. Now don's get me wrong, there are some riffs that get your head bobbing on the first listen. Every song has loads of them, truth be told. But there are also many passages that on the first few listens are just, well, unbearable to listen to. The first time around, they sound almost like pure static, but it is actually these parts that bring you back to listen to it over again, and not really the ?immediate? parts. After a few listens, you begin to realize that these parts are actually multiple riffs being played over one another, each begging for attention. At first, as you try focus on one riff or another in order to make it out, it just doesn's flow. It sounds as disconnected as possible. But eventually, everything falls into place, and you are left to marvel at the genius that gave birth to whatever it was you just experienced.

Ah, and there is where the published reviews come into play. This album is definitely something you experience, but you cannot put your finger on what it is. It refuses to let you grasp it, forcing you to go where it leads and not the other way around. By the time you get to this point, there is no turning back. You are caught in its realm, and it won's release you. And even if it did, you would not want to leave. This plane, centered on some intangible undiscovered dimension, is really the only place you can truly discuss Prometheus. However, for the sake of the sanity of everyone involved here, I will return to the world of the physical and go back to discussing the sound waves being generated by my speakers.

Much of this album is actually more along the lines of technical death than black metal in terms of guitar tones and riff structure, but there is still plenty of the darkest of genres left. Symphonic instruments provide atmosphere to nearly every crevice of the album, and the vocals, both black and clean, are done to absolute perfection. Also, every now and then, the guitars slip back into black metal territory. The occasional melodies are also done perfection, and are inserted at exactly the right moments. Being any more detailed than that would be really quite hard to do, as I honestly can's think of any good comparisons, including their own previous material. This is truly an album I?ve never, ever heard before. I would go into a description of my favorite songs, but that would mean describing all nine of them. Seriously. Besides, I don's really think it would be the right thing to do. Every song is good enough, and has more than enough individuality to stand on its own, but in all honesty, Prometheus is much better seen as one entity; much the same as how Led Zeppelin felt about their albums.

Expect absolutely NOTHING going into this album, and given it a chance. You might end up hating it, but on the other hand, if you're like me, you might end up truly and honestly falling in love with it. Undoubtedly, this is one the greatest albums I?ve ever heard, and I mean it. Brilliant!